Extract

Although a very large number of studies has been made upon the chemical reactions which can be induced by electric discharges, the effects of controlled condenser sparks appear to have been neglected, with one exception. Wrede has shown that if a large condenser (8 mfd) is charged to a high potential, and then allowed to discharge through a gas at low pressure, a spark gap being inserted in series with the discharge tube proper to increase the breakdown voltage, then hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen may be dissociated to the extent of 80, 60, and 40% respectively, the atom concentration being measured upon a most ingenious “diffusion gauge.” The Wrede discharge has been extensively employed by Steiner and his associates in a series of semi-spectroscopic investigations upon active nitrogen and atomic hydrogen, but its use as a means of effecting chemical reaction has not so far received attention.

Footnotes

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